Handbook for Research Postgraduate Students of Computer Science Department, HKBU (October 2015)
Address: Department of Computer Science Hong Kong Baptist University 224 Waterloo Road Kowloon Tong Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 3411 2782 Fax: (852) 3411 7892 E-mail: [email protected]
Department Office: Room R702, Sir Run Run Shaw Building Ho Sin Hang Campus
Page 1
Table of Contents Page
1. General Information……………………………………………………... 3 2. Coursework……………………………………………………………… 8 3. Supervision………………………………………………………………. 12 4. Monitoring of Progress…………………………………………………... 13 5. Studentships……………………………………………………………... 14 6. Overseas Attachment……………………………………………………. 15 7. Thesis Submission………………………………………………………. 16 8. Avoiding Plagiarism…………………………………………………….. 18 9. Leave of Absence……………………………………………………….. 19 10. Scholarship Information………………………………………………… 20 11. Academic Writing……………………………………………………….. 21 12. General Regulations on Research Offices………………………………. 21 13. Services to Students……………………………………………………... 22 14. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)……………………………………... 23 15. Acknowledgment………………………………………………………… 26 16. Appendix………………………………………………………………… 27
Page 2 1. General Information
The Handbook1 for Research Postgraduate Students of Department of Computer Science (“the Department” hereinafter) in Hong Kong Baptist University aims at providing our research postgraduate students with additional departmental requirements, regulations and guidelines, as well as some relevant information extracted from the Calendar/Bulletin, and Handbook for Research Postgraduate Student1. The Department reserves the right to revise any part of the information in this Handbook without prior notice. In the event that changes are made, the updated information always supersedes earlier versions.
1.1 Faculty Members
The programme at the Department of Computer Science is based on our desire to achieve excellence in teaching, research and consultancy. Our educational goal is to serve and support the current and future needs of Hong Kong and the global community as a whole. The current Computer Science faculty members and their research areas are:
Name Research Area
Dr. CHEUNG William K W Pattern Recognition, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence with Applications to Web/Text/Data Mining, Recommender Systems, and Web/Grid Service Management
Prof. CHEUNG Y M Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition, Image and Video Processing, and Watermarking
Dr. CHEN L Human-Computer Interaction, Web Personalization and Adaptivity, Recommender
Dr. CHOI Byron K K Graph-structured databases and XML, Query language implementations. Main-memory query processing, Data transformations, Data structures and algorithms
Dr. CHOY M T Scheduling, Quality of Service, Switching and Optical Network
Dr. CHU X W Wireless Networks, Peer-to-Peer Networks, and Parallel and Distributed Computing
Dr. FENG J Digital Video Processing, Multimedia Communications, Internet Applications, Digital Watermarking, Video Transmission and Storage System
Dr. HO Edmond S L Character animation, Physically based animation, and Human motion analysis and synthesis
Page 3 1. The information given in this Handbook is accurate as of August 2015. As the information may be revised from time to time, in case of inconsistency between this handbook and the University's one, the University’s handbook shall prevail. Should any dispute arise, the Departmental decision shall be final. Name Research Area
Dr. LAI Jean H Y Financial Decision Support Systems, E-Learning, Social Computing, and Intelligent Agent Technologies
Dr. LAM Carman K M Agent-Based Collaborative Workforce Management and Game Theoretic Analysis
Dr. LEE Fion S L Virtual Community, Community Informatics, Collaborative Learning, Knowledge Management
Prof. LEUNG Y W Multimedia, Cybernetics, Systems Engineering
Dr. LI Y X Image Indexing and Retrieval, Multimedia Searching Engine
Dr. LIM M H Pattern Recognition, Biometric Security, Biometric Discretization, and Cryptographic Key Establishment Protocols
Dr. LIU H Wireless Networking, Mobile Computing and Algorithm Design and Analysis
Prof. LIU J M Multi-Agent autonomy-oriented computing (AOC) paradigm, Self-organizing/decentralized systems, Web intelligence (WI), and real-world complex systems/complex networks related problems (e.g. health and health systems, extreme events, and energy/sustainability management).
Dr. LU H P Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition, Computer Vision, Biomedical Engineering, Mobile Computing, Tensor-based Computation
Prof. NG Michael K P Bioinformatics, Data mining, Operations research, Scientific computing (Affiliate)
Prof. NG Joseph K Y Real-Time and Embedded Systems, Multimedia Communications, Ubiquitous/Pervasive Computing, Mobile and Location-aware Computing, Performance Evaluation, Parallel and Distributed Computing.
Dr. TAM H W Parallel Computing, Symbolic Computing, Graphical User Interfaces, Networks
Prof. TANG Y Y Intelligent Systems, Wavelets Theory and Applications, Pattern Recognition, Image Processing, Computer Architecture, Parallel Processing, VLSI, Chinese Computing
Dr. WAN X Bioinformatic, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining (Affiliate)
Dr. WANG Y Biometrics, Information Security, Pattern Recognition, Statistical (Affiliate) Computing
Page 4 Name Research Area
Dr. WONG Kelvin C K e-Learning, IT in Education
Prof. XU J L Data Management, Mobile/Pervasive Computing, Distributed and Networked Systems
Dr. YAU Joe C K Copyright Protection, Digital Rights Management, Software Protection, Trusted Computing, Information Hiding, Digital Watermarking/ Finger-printing, Forward Security, Secure Logging, Document Archival, Java Security, e-Education
Prof. YUEN P C Human Face Recognition, Biometric and Privacy, Video surveillance (Department Head)
1.2 Requirement of PhD and MPhil Students
Both the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degrees are research-oriented. A student is required:
. to complete an approved programme of supervised research; . to present a written thesis which demonstrates an advanced level of knowledge and understanding in the candidate's field of study which describes and summarizes the research undertakings and findings; . to satisfy the Board of Examiners in an oral examination, (and any other examination if deemed necessary), on matters relevant to the subject of the thesis; and . to comply with supervision, attendance and all coursework requirements as laid down by the respective Faculty/ Department.
A full-time candidate registered provisionally for the MPhil degree is subject to a probationary period of up to 12 months (for a part-time candidate, up to 18 months). A full-time candidate registered provisionally for the PhD degree is subject to a probationary period of up to 18 months (for a part-time candidate, up to 21 months). At the end of the probationary period and after the submission of a research prospectus to the University's Committee on Graduate Studies, the candidate will be assessed and candidature will be confirmed or terminated.
1.3 Period of Study
Both the PhD and MPhil degree programmes may be pursued either on a full-time or a part-time mode. For any approved extensions beyond the maximum study period, either in full-time or part-time mode, the student is required to pay the full tuition fee (i.e. the amount of tuition fee paid by a full-time student during normal study period.)
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Programme PhD Degree MPhil Degree Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Minimum Period 24*/30 months 36*/60 months 21 months 36 months Normal Period 36/48** months 72 months 24 months 48 months Maximum Period 60 months 96 months 48 months 72 months
* The shorter period is applicable to PhD entrants who possess a Master's degree in a closely related field.
** The longer period is applicable to PhD entrants who do not possess a research Master's degree. A studentship is normally provided for 36 months. If students wish to extend to beyond 36 months, they should apply in writing, with the recommendation of the Dean, for approval by the Graduate School.
Note: Any exception to these rules requires the approval of the Research Postgraduate Studies Committee.
For any approved extensions beyond the maximum study period, either in full-time or part-time mode, the student is required to pay the full tuition fee (i.e. the amount of tuition fee paid by a full-time student during normal study period.).
1.4 Commencement of Study
The student is required to fill out the Study Commencement Form (Note: This form will be given by the Graduate School (GS) when the student makes a registration.) stating the date (the 1st or 16th day of a month) that he/she intends to begin study. The form should be returned to the Graduate School within 10 days of the commencement date. The calculation of the period of study is based on the commencement date.
1.5 Confirmation of Candidature
According to the regulations of Graduate School, a candidate registered provisionally for the MPhil degree / PhD degree is subject to a probationary period as follows:
Probationary Period Full-time Part-time MPhil Degree 12 months 18 months PhD Degree 18 months 21 months
Page 6 1.5.1 Procedures for Application for Confirmation of MPhil Candidature
An MPhil student must have successfully completed the Mandatory Common Core programme (by obtaining a satisfactory grade and for online tutorial on avoiding plagiarism, they should have passed a level of 80% or above and make a declaration via the online test platform) before arranging confirmation of candidature.
Between the 9th and 12th month after commencement of study (for a part-time student, between the 15th and 18th month), a full-time MPhil student should apply for confirmation of his/her MPhil candidature. He/she must submit an application form, together with research prospectus, through the supervisors for the consideration of the Departmental Research Committee prior to scheduling an open presentation. After the presentation, the Principal Supervisor is required to complete the Supervisors’ Report Form for confirmation of the candidature, by giving the comments on the research prospectus and making a recommendation as to whether or not to confirm the student’s candidature.
1.5.2 Procedures for Application for Confirmation of PhD Candidature
The following procedures are applicable to students who are:
(a) admitted directly as provisional PhD candidates; or (b) admitted as provisional MPhil/PhD candidates who need to pass the assessment to confirm PhD candidature; or (c) admitted as provisional MPhil candidates who want to transfer to the PhD programme.
A PhD student must have successfully completed the Mandatory Common Core programme (by obtaining a satisfactory grade and for passed the online tutorial on avoiding plagiarism, they should have passed a level of 80% or above and make a declaration via the online test platform before arranging confirmation of candidature.
Between the 12th and 18th month after commencement of study (for a part-time student, between the 15th and 21th month), a full-time PhD student should apply for confirmation of his/her PhD candidature. Application should be made in writing to the Graduate School through the Department, providing justification for the application and submitting evidence of research potential at the PhD level. A list of publications, if any, may be included. The student should submit a research prospectus whose guidelines can be found in the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Student; and conduct an open presentation. Prior to arranging an open presentation, an application form, together with research prospectus, must be submitted by the supervisors for the consideration of the Departmental Research Committee.
Page 7 As usual, his/her presentation in the most recent Postgraduate Research Symposium, organized by the Department in each June, can be used for this purpose. The student’s assessment panel members should fill out an evaluation form dispatched in the Postgraduate Research Symposium and hand it to the Chairman for attachment to the Assessment Panel Chairman’s Report.
The completed Assessment Panel Chairman’s Report, together with individual panel members’ reports, the student’s research prospectus and other relevant/supporting documents, should be submitted to the Graduate School. The recommendation on confirmation of candidature should be jointly endorsed by all members of the Assessment Panel.
1.6 Change of Status
During their course of study, students are permitted to change their status from full-time to part-time or from part-time to full-time. Students should complete the Request for Extension of Studies/Change of Student Mode Form for approval.
1.7 Extension of Study
Students who cannot successfully complete their studies within the normal study period should apply for extension 1 month before the study period lapses. Normally, an extension period of 3 or 6 months is granted each time. Applications should be made on the Request for Extension of Studies/Change of Student Status Form, for approval.
Any extension beyond the maximum period of study requires approval by the Research Postgraduate Studies Committee and the student is required to pay the full tuition fee (i.e. the amount of tuition fee paid by a full-time student during normal study period).
1.8 Withdrawal from Study
In case students intend to discontinue their studies prior to graduation, they should apply for official withdrawal using the Application for Official Withdrawal Form and complete the clearance procedures.
2. Coursework
2.1 Coursework Requirement
Candidates will pursue a course of study approved by the Graduate School, and shall present themselves for relevant examinations and at such times as may be required by the examiners.
Page 8 The course of study shall comprise:
(i) supervised original research work culminating in the submission of a thesis; (ii) coursework as required by the Department, as well as the respective Faculty; (iii) attendance at lectures, study groups and workshops as well as participation in seminars, colloquia and conferences as directed by the supervisor(s) and the Department. Please note that students are requested to attend all seminars (e.g., Colloquia, Distinguished Lectures, etc.) organized/indicated by the Department by default. Students who are unavailable to attend a seminar should report to the Seminar Coordinator in advance, if possible; (iv) any other courses needed to make up for the candidate’s deficiencies as required by the supervisor(s) and the University; and (v) the Mandatory Common Core Programme, which shall be completed satisfactorily before the arrangement of confirmation of candidature (applicable to the students commencing study after or on 2014/15).
Students are admitted in the academic year 2014-15 and thereafter are required to complete a mandatory Common Core Programme before confirmation of candidature. The programme aims to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to better prepare themselves for their academic career at HKBU and beyond. The programme comprises two credit bearing courses (equivalence of three units), namely, Advanced English for Academic Purposes and Teaching University Students. Others are still mandatory yet non-credit bearing, including research ethics, academic integrity, research support skills and laboratory safety. Students are pre-registered to all required MCCP courses in their first year and in case of time conflict with other classes, these courses should take priority.
MPhil and PhD students should respectively successfully complete a minimum of 12/15 units of coursework (including three units of mandatory common core courses) as laid down by the Faculty and achieve a minimum GPA score of 2.67, except as specified. Except the common core courses, each course normally carries 2 to 3 units per semester.
As a departmental requirement, students who are admitted in Academic Year 2007-2008 or afterwards should take the seminar course: COMP7080 Postgraduate Seminar per semester in their normal study period. The unit of this course is, however, NOT counted towards the coursework requirement. Further, students who take the course COMP7080 are required to submit five seminar reports per semester. The report form can be downloaded from: https://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/v1/?file=351
In course selection, please note that not more than two courses (which must have direct relevance to the research area of the student) are to be taken at advanced undergraduate level (i.e. 3XXX or 4XXX
Page 9 series courses, or upper division courses in a 4-year UG curriculum). As a reference, the detailed courses offered by the Department can be found at: https://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/v1/?pid=86 .
Any course to be taken by a candidate will need to be recommended by the Principal Supervisor and endorsed by the Department Head with due reference to the candidate’s academic background.
2.2 Exemption from Coursework
PhD students who have a relevant Master’s degree may be exempted from 3 units. Exemption is granted upon the approval of the Graduate School at the time when a student submits his/her Commencement Form. For students approved to transfer from MPhil to PhD programme, application for coursework exemption should be submitted within six months from the confirmation of PhD candidature.
2.3 Transfer of Units/Credits from Other Institutions/Universities
Students who have taken course(s)/subject(s) under the Cross-institutional Course/Subject Enrolment Scheme at other local institutions/universities are automatic upon fulfilment of the grading requirement. The number of units to be transferred is in accordance with the unit/credit as recorded in the transcript provided by the local institution. Only those courses listed under the cross-institutional course enrolment scheme are allowed for transfer. These courses will only be shown on the student’s grade record after transfer at the end of semester.
2.4 Coursework Administration
All courses attempted in the University will be recorded in the candidate’s transcript with letter grades and the total number of units gained. For courses that cannot be assessed objectively (e.g. guided reading and seminar, etc.), candidates will only be given an “S” grade for satisfactory completion of a coursework subject or a “U” grade for unsatisfactory performance. For courses successfully completed without letter grades, only the units would be counted towards the total number of units gained. The grades would not be included in GPA calculation.
For candidates taking courses in the University to fulfill their coursework requirements, they must attain grade “C” or above/grade “S” for satisfactory completion of a coursework subject. A candidate with grade “C-” or below/grade “U” in a course shall either: (a) repeat the same course once, where the letter grade/“U” grade can be replaced only if he/she attains grade “C” or above/grade “S” in the second attempt (although the original letter grade/“U” grade will not be recorded in the student’s transcript, it will be counted in the
Page 10 total number of courses with unsatisfactory performance); or (b) upon recommendation by the Principal Supervisor and endorsement by the Department Head concerned, complete another course as a substitute. In this case, the letter grade/“U” grade of the original course will be recorded in the candidate’s transcript. For the fulfillment of coursework requirements, no more than one course can be repeated. Furthermore, for the fulfillment of coursework requirements, no more than one course with unsatisfactory performance (i.e. grade “C-” or below/grade “U”) will be allowed.
Note: Candidates are required to satisfy all coursework requirements prior to the submission of their theses for oral examination. Any candidate who fails to satisfy the coursework requirements will be dismissed from the University.
2.5 GPA Requirement for Research Postgraduate Student (Applied to students enrolled in the Academic Year 2009-2010 or afterwards)
• MPhil students are required to successfully complete 12 units (including three units of mandatory common core courses for 2014-15 cohort and afterwards students) and attained a GPA score of 2.67 (B-). For courses without letter grades, the units (except for the course COMP7080) would be counted towards the total number of units gained but would not be included in the GPA calculation. For courses with the same grade, the one carrying the greater number of units takes precedence over the remaining in calculating the GPA score. If the student takes more than the required units of coursework, only the best courses which fulfil the coursework requirements of 12 units would be included in the GPA calculation. • PhD students are required to successfully complete 15 units (including three units of mandatory common core courses for 2014-15 cohort and afterwards students) and attained a GPA score of 2.67 (B-). For courses without letter grades, the units (except for the course COMP7080) would be counted towards the total number of units gained but would not be included in the GPA calculation. For courses with the same grade, the one carrying the greater number of units takes precedence over the remaining in calculating the GPA score. If the student takes more than the required units of coursework, only the best courses which fulfil the coursework requirements of 15 units would be included in the GPA calculation. • For courses approved for transfer from another institution/university, the total number of units gained (but not the letter grade) will be recorded in the candidate’s transcript and thus would not be included in the GPA calculation. The University reserves the right not to approve transfer of units for courses with grades below the equivalence of grade “C+” in the University’s grading system. • The minimum grade taken for calculation of GPA requirement is “C”. • For students transferred from MPhil to PhD, the number of units and grades obtained under the MPhil candidature would be counted towards the PhD degree • The letter grade of all attempted courses will be recorded on the candidate’s transcript.
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3. Supervision
Each research postgraduate student shall be assigned one Principal Supervisor from the corresponding department of the University and one Co-supervisor from the same or another department of the University. When it is desirable to access specific expertise elsewhere, an additional Co-supervisor may be appointed from another department or from outside the University. All supervisors should be at the academic rank of Research Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or above from the University (without any experience in research student supervision will be begin as a co-supervisor). The major responsibilities of a Principal Supervisor* are: (a) to ensure that the student understands the postgraduate regulations and that all requirements are complied with; (b) to give orientation to the student as to the facilities, resources, library support and other services provided by the University; (c) to guide the student in the selection of the research topic and coursework subject; (d) to advise the student on how to conduct research, and to develop the student’s skills in areas such as thesis writing, computing and data analysis, library searching, and the management of databases and archival material; (e) to meet the student regularly to read and supervise his/her work, discuss and advise on any problems encountered and to set deadlines or work schedules; (f) to monitor the student’s progress and instruct the student to follow proper procedures (e.g., submit the bi-annual records, the annual reports and the required documents for confirmation of candidature at appropriate time); (g) to ensure that the student has completed and fulfilled the course work requirements before the submission of his/her thesis for oral examination; (h) to identify and recommend prospective external examiners(s) for the student; (i) to read and comment on the student’s research thesis and to advise the student on possible revisions of the thesis before submission for examination; and (j) to serve as a member of the Board of Examiners in the MPhil oral examination, or to serve as an invited member to give input in questioning the candidate in the PhD oral examination, if required. (k) where appropriate, to advise the student on revisions of the thesis after the oral examination according to the comments of the Board of Examiners; and (l) after the oral examination and on the final version of the thesis submitted by the student, to confirm that the student has made all necessary changes as recommended by the Board of Examiners and the final thesis has been approved by him/her.
* If Research Assistant Professors are appointed as Principal Supervisor, they should use their own
Page 12 research funding to support the studentship and justifications from the Department Head and Faculty Dean should be provided when making the recommendation.
The responsibilities of a Co-supervisor are: (a) to assist the Principal Supervisor in supervising the student, or serve in place of the Principal Supervisor when he/she is on approved leave; (b) to read and comment on the student’s research prospectus and share any suggested revision with the Principal Supervisor; (c) to read and comment on the student’s research thesis and share any suggested revision with the Principal Supervisor; (d) to act for the Principal Supervisor if required, as a member of the Board of Examiners in the MPhil oral examination, or as an invited member to give input in questioning the candidate in the PhD oral examination, in the absence of the Principal Supervisor.
4. Monitoring of Progress
4.1 Probation Department may check a student’ research progress from time to time. The Research Postgraduate Committee has the right to call a presentation to review the student’s performance if the student performance is far behind the normal expectations. To do so, the student’s Research Committee members, including his/her supervisor, will be invited. The student should be informed for such an arrangement two months prior to the presentation.
4.2 Progress Report Students are required to submit a progress report to the Graduate School every 6 months during the course of study. The report can be submitted to the Graduate School online through the BUniPort under "Studies" - https://buniport.hkbu.edu.hk before the deadline. The report, after being endorsed by your Principal Supervisor, would be kept in the BUniPort until the termination of your access right (i.e. upon submission of final bound thesis or withdrawal of study).
Furthermore, to closely monitor the progress of each postgraduate student, the Department organizes Postgraduate Research Symposium in each June. In this annual event, each postgraduate student normally needs to submit a research paper and give a public oral presentation. Also, the student’s assessment panel members (consisting of Principal Supervisor, Co-Supervisor and two internal faculty members with the rank of Research Assistant Professor or above) will evaluate the student’s research performance. The assessment results will submit it to the student’s Principal Supervisor or Panel
Page 13 Chairman to further follow-up.
5. Studentships
Full-time MPhil or PhD students shall normally be provided with studentship for up to 24 months and 36 months respectively. There are two types of studentship awarded to qualified full-time students: University Grant (UG) Studentship and Research Grant (RG) Studentship. Students receiving University Grant studentship are subject to the Terms and Conditions of University Grant (UG) Studentship and students receiving Research Grant studentship shall be subject to the Terms and Conditions of Research Grant (RG) Studentship. A student may be supported by a combination of UG and RG studentships during the course of study. The Principal Supervisor, Department and/or Faculty will determine the type of studentship to be used to support a student.
Either UG or RG studentships are granted to eligible full-time research postgraduate students of the University to provide them with the financial assistance for their academic studies and daily life. Based on the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Students, the detailed conditions of Studentships are:
5.1 Studentship recipients are required to perform duties related to research or teaching. 5.2 Studentship recipients should not engage in any kind of employment or remunerated work unless permitted by the Department Head or the Faculty/School Dean, otherwise, the Faculty/School/Department may cease their studentships. 5.3 The award of studentships is conditional on the recipient undertaking and continuing full-time postgraduate research studies at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Unauthorized leave may result in the cancellation of the studentship. Recipients not performing satisfactorily in their study, or duties, may also lose their award. 5.4 The award of the UG Studentship will automatically cease in the month the recipient has completed his/her programme of study at the University within the normal study period (i.e., the submission of the memo from the Principal Supervisor confirming that the student’s thesis has been properly revised according to the recommendation of the Examination Board). For all other cases, the UG Studentship will expire after two years for MPhil and three years for PhD study. For the RG Studentship, it is offered for the period stipulated in item 5.3 and is subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funds. 5.5 Both of UG and RG Studentship recipients are not employees of the Hong Kong Baptist University, and the studentship is not salary payment. Pursuant to the above conditions on studentships, it can be seen that both of UG and RG Studentships are offered provided that students perform satisfactorily in both research studies and Teaching Assistantship duties. In other words, the studentships supported by either UGC-funded quotas or research projects, are all linked with the postgraduate performance in research and teaching assistant
Page 14 duties. Accordingly, the Department has therefore implemented a performance linked adjustment in research postgraduate studentships since September 2004. The purpose is to encourage and stimulate postgraduate students to maintain high performance standard in both research and teaching assistant duties. Details can be found at Appendix 1.
All research postgraduate students who are studentship recipients, irrespective of funding source, are required to perform invigilation duties as assigned
6. Overseas Attachment
Full-time research postgraduate students are eligible to apply for overseas attachment. The interested student should first discuss the proposed attachment arrangement with his/her supervisor(s).
Students approved for overseas attachment shall be required to pay the normal tuition fees. If the student is a studentship recipient, he/she shall be eligible to continue to receive a studentship during the period of attachment. The leave of absence for approved attachment(s) shall be counted towards the period of study. Students may apply for “Research Student Expenses” to support the travel and taxes incurred for the attachment, subject to its rules and procedures. Any expenses outside the designated amount and categories such as subsistence, insurance, etc. shall be at the student’s own expenses or from undesignated funds from within the department or Faculty / School, if approved. No additional funding will be provided from designated accounts (e.g. Graduate School, Staff Development, Equipment, etc.).
Students applying for overseas attachment should complete the Application Form for Overseas attachment. If the total attachment period exceeds 3 months or 92 calendar days (counted cumulatively and including public holidays), the application must be approved by the Graduate School. Otherwise, it can be approved by the respective Faculty Dean upon endorsement by the Department Head and the Principal Supervisor. In either case, the Graduate School is responsible for the recording/processing of such attachment applications.
Furthermore, in order to best train the postgraduate students and to enable them to pursue cutting-edge research, the Department will strongly encourage and support students' Overseas Research Exchange experience during their studies. On top of the University research student expenses support, the Department supports each full-time postgraduate student with the extra amount of HKD7,000 (MPhil) & HKD10,000 (PhD) for the participation of conference, overseas exchange programme/attachment and other research-related activities within their normal study period. Each RPg student is, however, expected to apply for the university support first.
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In addition, students will strongly be encouraged to engage in three months to one year overseas research attachment within the normal study period, reimbursement for actual expenses of airfare up to HK$12,000; and overseas accommodation allowance at HK$3,000 per month with a cap at HK$18,000 per application, on top of the current financial support from Graduate School and the Department.
The Research Postgraduate Committee and the Department Head are responsible to grant the approval for such a visit/attachment. The approval for such activities/attachments will be subject to: (1) their satisfactory performances in research and coursework, (2) an exchange activity plan, and (3) recommendations from the Supervisor and the Postgraduate Committee.
To apply the “Research Student Expenses”, student should submit the application form, together with the below supporting documents and endorsement of the Principal Supervisor, to the general office at least 3 weeks before departure for activities. Late application or with incomplete information/supporting documents will not be considered, unless with strong justifications. • Programme information and date • For conference: paper acceptance letter • Conference registration record
For other academic activities: invitation letter or relevant documents: • Evidence of Programme fee payment fee payment (e.g. conference registration fee, workshop fee, etc.) • Evidence of air-ticket fee payment • Evidence of accommodation fee payment • A research activity plan, duly endorsed by supervisor and departmental research committee members (applicable to three months to one year overseas research attachment only) A completion report within 3 months after the attachment (applicable to three months to one year overseas research attachment only)
Research Student Expenses Application form - supported by the University. Research Student Expenses Application form - supported by the Computer Science Department
7. Thesis Submission
Upon completion of the coursework requirements and the programme of supervised research, the student shall submit a written thesis for oral examination. In general, the major steps are as follows:
Page 16 Step 1: Format of the thesis, details of which can be found at the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Students. Step 2: A memo to confirm the thesis title, with endorsement by the Principal Supervisor, should be submitted to the Graduate School (GS) by the student normally not less than 2 months before the presentation of the thesis. Thereafter no modification of the title shall be made without approval. Step 3: When the thesis title is approved, supervisors are required to nominate the External Examiner(s) for Oral Examination. The nomination form should be accompanied with CV of each External Examiner including complete address, telephone number, fax number and email address. All the materials should be provided to the General office to follow up. Step 4: Before the oral examination, MPhil students are required to submit the unbound theses to the Graduate School (4 copies for MPhil students and 6 copies for PhD students respectively) together with the form “Notice of Unbound Thesis Submission”. In either case, if a Proxy is involved, the student must submit 1 more copy for the Proxy. The thesis should be submitted in unbound form using a ring folder. No unbound theses will be accepted without the Notice. Step 5: Students are required to have the thesis scanned by the anti-plagiarism software. A course room “GS8008 RPG Course” has been set up in the BU Moodle. Step 6: After the oral examination, an unbound copy of the final thesis (printed on both sides) should be submitted to the Graduate School by the specified date for format checking. Thereafter, an electronic copy of the thesis (please save two files in a CD-ROM: i) one file of the whole thesis in pdf format; and ii) abstract in word or other text format) should be submitted to the Graduate School. The electronic thesis copy shall be kept by the Library. All MPhil and PhD theses would be deposited in the Institutional Repository administered by the Library and are available for open access to the community. A bound thesis copy should also be provided to your Faculty/School/AVA/Departments/Principal Supervisor if so required. The detailed operational procedures for submission of the Final Bound Thesis for Graduation can be found at: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~gs/eng/theses.phpStudents are required to have the thesis scanned by the anti-plagiarism software. A course room “GS8008 RPG Course” has been set up in the BU Moodle.
Furthermore, for better preparation of the oral presentation, some information on enhancing Presentation Skills can be viewed in the following websites:
Hints for making oral presentations Please visit http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/Dept/Tips/present/comms.htm
How to present a paper Please visit http://www.cc.gatech.edu/faculty/ashwin/wisdom/how-to-present-a-paper.html
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Starting from the Academic Year 2014-15, RPg students are required to publish at least one high quality journal before their graduation.
8. Avoiding Plagiarism
8.1 What is “Plagiarism”? Plagiarism means taking someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own, which includes: (1) Copy the words from the published or unpublished materials of someone else and pass them off as your own writing; (2) Paraphrase or summarize someone else’s idea or work and call it your own.
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty, and is therefore viewed as a serious offence, and punishable under University regulations. In particular, if academic dishonesty is found in the submission of a thesis, the Board of Examination could fail the student concerned and allow for a re-submission of work or terminate the candidacy of the student concerned.
For details regarding plagiarism how the official procedures to be taken against it, please refer to the Handbook of Avoiding Plagiarism by Tony T.N. Hung, 3rd Revison.
Furthermore, “self-plagiarism” should be avoided as well. Based on the explanation of Wikipedia (details can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism#Self-plagiarism), self-plagiarism is “the reuse of significant, identical, or nearly identical portions of one’s own work without acknowledging that one is doing so or without citing the original work”. Students are strongly encouraged to follow these best practices as suggested in Wikipedia: 1. “Provide full disclosure mention in the introduction that the new or derivative work incorporates texts previously published;” 2. “Ensure there is no violation of copyright;” 3. “Cite the old works in the references section of the new work.” 8.2 How to Cite Published Sources Students are reminded of the need in any written work to acknowledge whatever words or ideas contained in your work which are not your own, and to cite the sources from which you have taken them. The preferred practice is to cite the source in the appropriate place in the text, and list the full bibliographical details in the Reference section at the end of your article. Further, if a whole sentence/paragraph is exactly extracted from someone else’s work, students should use quotation marks to indicate them in the text, however short. Different disciplines may adopt different practices, thus
Page 18 please seek the advice of your supervisor. For details regarding how to cite published sources, please refer to the Handbook of Avoiding Plagiarism by Tony T.N. Hung, 3rd Revision.
The following is a good reference for citing: http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/tionline/index.jsp?pageID=institute_level1_article&article=tionline/lega cy/inst2004/dec04/12w.pubsb1.xml
Students should read and understand the page from the above link, before writing any documents, e.g., progress reports, surveys, presentation slides, research papers, or theses.
9. Leave of Absence
The following leave arrangements are applicable only to full-time students during normal study period:
Annual Leave A maximum of 14 working days of annual leave will be granted in a year. It is preferable for students to take leave during the summer months. Leave from the following year can also be taken in advance but in any case such advance leave should not exceed 7 working days. (Calculation is based on 5.5 working days in a week.) All annual leave taken will be counted towards the period of study.
Sick Leave A maximum of 24 days of sick leave will be granted in a year. These days of leave will be counted towards the period of study. Medical certificates are required for sick leave of 2 days or more.
For other leave arrangement, please refer to the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Student. All research postgraduate students must obtain an approval from his/her principal supervisor and the endorsement from the Department Head, prior to taking any type of leave (including conference/study leave, annual leave, and sick leave). Below are the guidelines for leave of absence:
• Except for very special cases, e.g. sick leave, all research postgraduate students should fill out Leave Application Form, together with the supported documents, if any, to his/her principal supervisor to obtain the approval in advance; • If applicable, student needs to get the endorsement from your course instructor(s) so that your TA duties, if any, can be always appropriately arranged; • The principal supervisor endorses the application form and submit it in person (rather than by the student) to the departmental office for the endorsement from Department Head; • As soon as the RPg student comes back, he/she should contact the General Office as soon as possible to resume the duties. If necessary, the General Office will send an e-mail to this student
Page 19 and his/her principal supervisor for a reminder. • No annual leave for students under Extended period of study; • A half-day annual leave would be deducted for leave taking on Saturday.
Based on the Graduate School/Departmental regulations, a full-time RPg student should be in duty during the normal office hours at least. In case he/she does not submit the leave application BEFORE the leave (except for the special sick leave), they will be regarded as being absent from study without reason. The Department will reserve the rights to take the further actions.
10. Scholarship Information
10.1 University Scholarships
Scholarships are bestowed upon the selected recipients including new students on the basis of academic merits and other criteria stipulated by the donors. The list of scholarships and prizes available for application is available at the web page of Academic Registry.
10.2 Postgraduate Research Scholarship
10.2.1 Objective
To recognize research postgraduate (RPg) students who have achieved performance excellence in postgraduate research.
10.2.2 Scholarship Details
Commencing from September 1, 2005, the Department has introduced Postgraduate Research Scholarship (the amount of HK$5,000) with the quota up to two per year. The procedure is as follows:
Step 1: The RPg Coordinator will Call for Nomination via e-mail each July.
Step 2: The principal supervisors need to fill out the form to nominate their Postgraduate students, if any, and submit it to Postgraduate coordinator for this scholarship by the end of each July. (The nomination form can be downloaded from: https://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/v1/?file=352 )
Step 3: The Postgraduate coordinator will collect the supporting documents from the nominees, and submit them to the Research Postgraduate Committee.
Step 4: Based on the candidates' academic performance, the Research Postgraduate Committee will
Page 20 screen and recommend the name list of scholarship candidates to the Departmental Head.
Step 5: Subject to the approval of Departmental Head, the name list of scholarship recipient(s) will be announced.
11. Academic Writing
Each RPg student can reimburse for the actual expenses of academic writing service (up to HK$5,000) in total during the normal study period.
12. General Regulations on Departmental Research Offices
To provide a quiet, comfortable and safety environment to our postgraduate students, each student should always abide by the policies and regulations on laboratories, if applicable. Furthermore, they must also abide by the general regulations on departmental research offices as follows: (1) Students shall not change their offices without prior permission from the Department. (2) Office doors should be firmly locked at all times. (3) Without being accompanied by the departmental students or staff, any outside person/visitor is NOT allowed to enter the office. (4) Cooking and smoking are NOT allowed at all times. (5) Students should always keep the office environment clean and tidy. (6) Students must NOT disturb others (e.g., talk loudly) or behave rudely in office. (7) Students are liable for any equipment damage due to their negligence. It is NOT allowed to unlock and open computer cases/compartments to remove any parts or the Department labels without permission. (8) Students are strictly PROHIBITED from taking out any departmental items from the office without prior permission. (9) Students are NOT allowed to change the office setting by themselves. (10) The last student leaving the office late at night is responsible for turning off all lights. (11) Students should always take care of their own valuable belongings, such as notebook computer, mobile phone, and so forth.
A person who observes any violation of the above regulations should report to the general office immediately by e-mail: [email protected], or make a call at: 3411 2387. The Department reserves the rights to take any disciplinary actions.
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13. Services to Students
13.1 Interlibrary Loan and Use of Other Local University Libraries
Besides using our University Library, students may also use the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) through the electronic ILL system on the Library’s homepage. At present, the Library has access to the holdings of academic institutions’ libraries supported by the UGC.
13.2 University Health Services and Environmental Health & Safety Unit
13.2.1 Serious Accidents and Injuries
If serious accidents and injuries occur, e.g. chemical burn, eye injury, suspected fractures, convulsions, loss of consciousness, severe lacerations, head injury etc., please: (1) call the Health Services Centre at ext. 7447 (location: RRS 502), and (2) report to the Security Office through the emergency phones (which are installed near the main exit on each floor of the Science Tower) or at ext. 7777. These phones are manned 24 hours daily. Please note that it is not practicable to send the injured to the Baptist Hospital because they do not accept casualty cases.
If doubt arises as to the severity of the patient’s condition or the necessity of ambulance service, the Health Services Centre could be consulted before calling 9-999 for help.
13.2.2 Less Severe Accidents and Injuries
For less severe cases, e.g. fainting attacks, severe abdominal pains etc., please call ext. 7447 for help and advice. At the time of calling, the Health Services Centre may have to know in advance some details of the patient’s condition over the phone, so that they can give appropriate advice and/or bring along the necessary medicine and instruments if needed. First aid kits are available in all teaching and research laboratories for treatment of minor injuries. An Eye Wash and Shower are located next to the teaching laboratory on each floor.
13.2.3 Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
MSDS provides safety information on chemicals such as safety precautions and first aid treatment. The MSDS is accessible through the University network. Please note that MSDS should be consulted prior
Page 22 to handling any dangerous or unknown chemicals. 13.2.4 Follow-up
A hazardous occurrence investigation report form should be filled and returned to the Environmental Health and Safety Unit of the Estates Office.
13.2.5 Night Escort Services
Security escort service from the campus to the student residence hall is available after 11:00pm at night. Anyone who needs help should call ext. 7777. The escort service is available in late evening if specially requested.
13.2.6 Insurance
All our students (full time and part time) are covered under a group personal accident insurance for accidents occurring to students in the course of normal local or overseas activities organized by the University. The coverage is basically identical among all UGC-funded institutions.
13.3 Office of Information Technology (ITO)
All students of Hong Kong Baptist University are welcome to use the computer facilities provided by ITO. The ITO supports and manages three User Computing Centres at Room OEE-702, RRS-302 and WLB-301. All networked PC’s and Macintosh’s can access Internet services, CD-ROM services and a large number of PC software packages for Windows 7, Unix and Mac environments. Output can be printed via different network servers to high quality laser printers. For details, please visit http://ito.hkbu.edu.hk/.
14. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: As a full-time research postgraduate (RPg) student, how many working hours do we have to stay at our office each week? Answer: Research studies very often require considerable hard-working efforts, which are beyond the so-called working hours. Nevertheless, all RPg students are reminded that they should be able to be contacted at their offices (except special circumstances), during the normal office hours of 9:00am till 5:30pm from Monday to Friday, and 9:00am till 12:30pm on Saturday.
Q2: Why each full-time research postgraduate student needs to take the Teaching Assistantship (TA)
Page 23 duties per semester? Answer: As shown in the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Student, each full-time RPg student is required to take the teaching assistantship duty in his/her normal study period, besides performing the research. Actually, the Department believes that the opportunity of being involved in teaching assistance practice is an essential component of an RPg student’s academic experience. Hence, all students should make the best use of this opportunity, and under the direct supervision of a teaching staff, seriously and actively participate in required activities and perform assigned duties throughout this process.
Q3: How much time does an RPg student spend performing TA duty per semester? Answer: Appropriate TA duties include: (1) preparing and teaching tutorials (except for the ones specified in the subject syllabus) and laboratory section(s), (2) coordinating discussions, (3) marking/grading assignment, and (4) providing contact hours. The subjects to be supported will be assigned by the departmental Postgraduate Research Committee based on the preference of students and the subject needs or requirements. The teaching load would be normally no more than 12 hours per week on average, which is, however, slightly varied subject to the subject requirements and the number of available postgraduate students.
Q4: Is there any award or penalty for the TA duties? Answer: At the end of each semester, the TA performance of each RPg student will be evaluated by the subject instructor(s) and the students, respectively. Based on their evaluation results, the Department will award those students with a certificate in recognition of their outstanding teaching assistantship. Meanwhile, the Postgraduate Research Committee will investigate on those students with a poor TA performance, and if necessary, may report the result to his/her supervisor and take the further action based on the Performance Linked Adjustment (see Appendix 1) with effect from September 2004.
Q5: Do we have to attend each seminar? Answer: Commencing from September 2007, all RPg students enrolled in Academic Year 2007-2008 or afterwards are required to take the subject: COMP7080 Postgraduate Seminar, per semester within their normal study period, and need to submit the seminar reports at the end of each semester, as indicated in the syllabus of this subject. Furthermore, all RPg students should attend all seminars organized or designated by the Department. The departmental secretariat will record the students’ attendance, as one of indices for your annual performance evaluation. Nevertheless, to broaden the knowledge, RPg students are always strongly encouraged to attend the seminars organized by Faculty, University or the outside, related to your research areas.
Q6:Do we have to attend and present a research paper in Postgraduate Research Symposium (PG Day) each June in our normal study period?
Page 24 Answer: It is true as stated in the paragraph of Page 8, except that your presentation in the forthcoming PG Day may be optional only when the period of your studies is less than three months prior to the forthcoming PG Day. The exemption of presentation should, however, be endorsed by your Principal Supervisor.
Q7: Is there any course for us to improve writing? Answer: Every year AR cooperates with the Language Centre to arrange such kind of courses. AR will notify all RPg students via email as soon as they have made an arrangement.
Q8: Must we get the approval prior to taking a leave, e.g., annual leave, casual leave, or study leave? Answer: It is definitely true. All RPg students are required to obtain (1) an approval from his/her principal supervisor, and (2) an endorsement from the Department Head, prior to taking any leaves (including conference/study leave, sick leave, annual leave, and casual leave). According to the University regulations, you should fill out an appropriate leave form and submit it, together with the supported documents, if any, to the general office in advance. In case it is impossible to get a prior approval for the sick leave, the leave form together with the supported documents should be submitted as soon as you come back to resume your studies.
Q9: Is there any grant to support my research activities such as conference? Answer: The University has a certain amount to support each RPg student for research activities. Students should submit the Application Form for Research Student Expenses with the support of the Principal Supervisor, the Department Head and the Dean to the Graduate School for approval at least 3 weeks before departure for activities.
Page 25 Acknowledgment
The contents of this handbook are partially extracted from the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Students (Version: July 2008), Calendar/Bulletin 2008-2009, Handbook of Avoiding Plagiarism by Tony T.N. Hung (3rd Revision), and the Student Handbook of BSc (Hons) Degree in Computing Studies (Information Systems) (Version: 2008-2009) and the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Students 2015-2016.
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Appendix 1: Performance Linked Adjustment in Postgraduate Studentships
Department of Computer Science, HKBU (September 2004)
Objective:
To encourage and stimulate research postgraduate (RPg) students to maintain high performance standard in research and teaching assistant duties.
Performance Review and Related Adjustment of Research Postgraduate Studentships:
The existing RPg studentships via UGC or research projects are provided under the condition that students perform satisfactorily in both research studies and TA duties. In other words, the studentships, regardless of UGC funded or supervisor’s project self-funded, are all linked with the RPg performance in research and teaching assistance duties.
In order to meet this requirement, commencing from September 1, 2004, the Department will follow the practice of performance evaluation, which will be conducted once a semester in the following two aspects: (1) Performance in Research The research performance of an RPg student will be evaluated by: his/her research committee, RPg coordinator, and Departmental Head. (2) Performance in TA The TA performance of a student will be evaluated by: his/her course lecturer, RPg coordinator, and Departmental Head. The student’s overall performance will be the weighted results of (1) and (2).
In the case that the overall evaluation of an RPg student is unsatisfactory, an initial amount of HK$4,000 will be deducted from his/her normal monthly studentship. Such an adjustment will be reviewed on a semester basis. For those who fulfill the minimum requirement, their studentships will not be affected.
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